Guide Mark Swenson with a very happy client Alexandra- on her first outing she landed 18 trout! The smiles on client & guide say it all. Hatchwise, in the mornings look for #22-26 Tricos (spinners mainly in early to mid mornings) and #20-24 Summer/Winter Caddis. Midday is quiet hatchwise, so in terms of dries think terrestrials- ants, beetles, hoppers, and you can also blind fish Stimulators (in #12-16 it can imitate Yellow Sally Stonefly) and Mini Chernobyls in the riffly water- drop a small beadhead nymph 1-2' below the bigger dries to maximize your chances. Evenings are seeing #10-14 Isonychia (faster water only), #12-14 White Flies (they like slower, silty pools and hatch at dusk), #16-22 assorted Caddis (especially tan, but black, olive, and brown), #14-22 Summer Stenos (basically a smaller Light Cahill, averaging a #16-18), small Blue Wing Olives #18-26 & Rusty Spinnners in the same sizes, and Midges #22-28. Hatches that were previously only in the TMA/C&R section are now mostly up in Riverton also. The highest percentage midday tactic is nymphing the faster/deeper water with smaller nymphs averaging #16-20. Big Stones in #8-12 would be an exception, as would Iso nymphs #10-14. Don't forget about Yellow Sally Stonflies, they look like a miniature Golden Stone, typically running #14-16, sometimes down to a #20. Yellowish nyphs in that size range imitate them.
Flow remains low at 84.4cfs in the permanent C&R, with 78cfs at the dam in Riverton, and 6.4cfs from the Still River (2 miles below dam, about 1/8 mile below Rt 20 bridge at Hitchcock/Riverton Self Storage). Water temps in Riverton are still a very trout-friendly high 50's/low 60's. Where you find deeper water & some current, you will find the trout. Eliminate the really skinny sections. If the current is choppy and there is shade, even better.
UpCountry is asking anglers to use common sense when fishing on the Farmington for the next few weeks due to the low flows and warm weather. The river south of Route 219 in New Hartford gets too warm to fish without overstressing the trout, so please stay on the upper end of the river. Please follow these guidelines when fishing on the river: New Hartford to Peoples State Forest is ok to fish during the morning before the heat of the day warms the water, but by afternoon you should be fishing the upper miles of the Farmington below the Goodwin Dam where the river is maintaining temperatures in the upper 50's/low 60's. The state (DEEP) has closed all tributaries to the Farmington from New Hartford and downriver through Collinsville/Unionville so that they can act as thermal refuges to any trout seeking colder water to survive. You are not allowed to fish within 100ft of the signs at the mouth of any brook or stream that enters the river. In our opinion this does not go far enough... please refrain from fishing altogether south of New Hartford unless you are targeting smallmouth. Lets give the trout on the lower river a break.... its only a few weeks until cooler temperatures.
New Sage & Redington rods have arrived at the store: the hot new Sage X (replaces the ONE), the new version of the Sage ESN (including the 10.5' #3 that weights UNDER 2 3/4 ounces!), and the Redington Trout Spey rods in 2-4wts are all in stock and online as well. We still have a bunch of both demo & new Sage ONE's, Circa's and ESN's on sale, priced to sell. Current stock is listed on our website if you can't make it in to the store. Our George Daniel Nymph & Streamer Clinics are coming up in September & October and are full except for the October streamer class- you can still put you name on the wait list, and we will likely have him back in 2017. George is one of the premier nymph and streamer fisherman for our generation so don't miss an opportunity to learn from the best. Give us a call to reserve a spot.
Summertime Fishing Advice:
The trout have been getting caught & released for months, the water is the lowest of the year. Lower flows means it is easier to spook the trout, so a stealthy approach can be very important, especially on flat water pools and trout laying in skinny lies. Trout sipping bugs on flat water requires using better techniques to drift the fly. Use a Reach Cast, which helps present your fly to the fish before your leader, and also usually makes it easier to get a drag-free float. Longer leaders (12' and up to 15' +), lighter lines (#2-4), lighter tippets, smaller flies, proper fly selection, accurate casts, and drag-free presentations are the keys to unlocking the puzzle. Many anglers think they are getting a drag-free float, when in reality they are getting micro-drag they cannot see. Longer tippets & shorter casts will help give you a natural, drag-free presentation, and as flies get smaller you need to lighten your tippet. For all but the biggest dries, think 6x & even 7x tippet (for tiny flies like the #24 Tricos for example), for Isonychia and big foam terrestrials you can do 5x and even 4x (it's a bigger, more wind resistant fly, and you are usually fishing it in the fast water). If it's not too windy and you are able to turn your dry fly over, lengthening your tippet out to 3 or even 4 feet will do wonders for reducing drag, it will give you the same effect as dropping down 1-2 tippet sizes.
For nymphers, some of the same advice for the dry fly guys applies to you too. Longer leaders (12' or even longer, Euro-style nymphers often use 30+ foot leaders or pure mono set-ups), accurate casts, and drag-free floats are all very important. While there are exceptions (#6-14 Stonefly nymphs & #10-14 Isonychia nymphs), I frequently find smaller nymphs (no bigger than #16-20 patterns if tied on short-shank curved scud hooks, and #18-22 if tied on standard hooks) to be the key to success many days in July, August & September. Many of the natural bugs are smaller this time of year, and our highly pressured trout seem less suspicious of smaller flies too. Use a two fly rig with a bigger fly, but make your second pattern something SMALL. If one of your flies is gaudy, flashy or has a hot-spot, make sure your second pattern is drabber & more natural (maybe beadless or with a black or brown bead instead of a shiny gold, copper or silver one). Usually 5x fluorocarbon tippet is light enough, but sometimes in pressured spots (like Church Pool) I'll go down to 6x, especially if it's sunny, the water is low, and the flies are small. If you like TroutHunter fluoro tippet, they do in-between sizes: 4.5x, 5.5x & 6.5x- I use the 5.5x a lot in the summertime, and so do some of the guides. Many trout pile into FAST water in the summer, so make sure to make some casts there. Big Stones, many Caddis larva/pupa, and certain Mayflies all live in faster water, so put your flies where the food (and the trout) are.
UpCountry is always looking for good trade-in fly rods and reels to sell on our website. If you are looking for some new equipment we will gladly put the value of your used gear toward new items in our store. Give us a call to make an appointment.... our prices on trade ins are typically higher than found anywhere else.
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